Vehicle-based order entry and processing mechanism

Abstract

The present invention uses an order processing server to transmit an electronic menu to a customer. When a vehicle comes within range of the server's transceiver, the menu is received by the particular customer device, and the order is formulated and transmitted back to the server.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method for servicing a customer of a restaurant, said method being carried out by a first computer system and comprising the steps of:
 transmitting, from said first computer system, a restaurant menu of said restaurant, said restaurant menu specifying a plurality of available items, each available item of said plurality of available items comprising at least one respective food item or drink item offered for sale by said restaurant for purchase by customers thereof, said restaurant menu being transmitted as a first wireless transmission without being requested by a customer device associated with said customer; 
 retransmitting, from said first computer system, said restaurant menu specifying said plurality of available items, said restaurant menu being retransmitted as a second wireless transmission without being requested by said customer device; and 
 receiving at said first computer system order information from said customer device, said order information specifying at least one available item selected by said customer for purchase from among said plurality of available items responsive to receiving said restaurant menu in said customer device via said second wireless transmission, said customer device being moved by said customer from a first position to a second position, wherein said first position is not within range of said first wireless transmission and wherein said second position is within range of said second wireless transmission, said order information being received from said customer device as a third wireless transmission after said customer device is moved to said second position, said order information not being received as a result of a request from said customer device; and 
 responsive to receiving at said first computer system said order information, displaying, by said first computer system, information to staff of said restaurant to cause the at least one available item selected by said customer for purchase to be prepared by the staff. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1  including the step of displaying said item information. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1  wherein said first computer system is embodied as a server computer system. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1  wherein said order information includes payment information. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1  wherein said order information includes vehicle identification information. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1  further including the steps of:
 validating said order information; 
 accepting said order information when said order information is valid; and 
 rejecting said order information when said order information is not valid. 
 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 6  further including the steps of:
 transmitting acceptance information to said client device when said order is valid; and 
 transmitting error information to said client device when said order is not valid. 
 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 1  including the step of displaying said order information. 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 5  including the step of displaying said vehicle identification information. 
     
     
       10. A method for servicing a customer of a restaurant, said method being carried out by a customer device associated with said customer and comprising the steps of:
 receiving a restaurant menu of said restaurant at said customer device via a retransmitted wireless transmission, said restaurant menu comprising information specifying a plurality of available items, each available item of said plurality of available items comprising at least one respective food item or drink item offered for sale by said restaurant for purchase by customers thereof, said retransmitted wireless transmission having been transmitted by a server computer system subsequent to transmitting at least one previous wireless transmission without being requested by said customer device; 
 displaying said restaurant menu via said customer device subsequent to receipt by said customer device of said retransmitted wireless transmission, said receipt by said customer device of said retransmitted wireless transmission occurring after said customer device is moved by said customer from a first position to a second position, wherein said first position is not within range of said at least one previous wireless transmission and wherein said second position is within range of said retransmitted wireless transmission; 
 responsive to displaying said restaurant menu via said customer device, receiving, in said customer device, input from said customer specifying at least one available item to be purchased by said customer from among said plurality of available items; and 
 transmitting order information via a wireless transmission from said customer device to said server computer system, said order information specifying said at least one available item to be purchased by said customer, wherein responsive to receiving said order information in said server computer system, said server computer system causes staff of said restaurant to prepare the at least one available item to be purchased by said customer. 
 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 10  wherein said restaurant menu is repeatedly transmitted such that repeated wireless transmissions result and wherein said repeated wireless transmissions comprise said at least one previous wireless transmission and said retransmitted wireless transmission. 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 10  wherein said order information includes payment information. 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 10  wherein said order information includes vehicle identification information. 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 10  further including the steps of:
 receiving acceptance information at said client device after said server computer system determines that said order is valid; and 
 receiving error information at said client device after said server computer system determines that said order is not valid. 
 
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 10  including the step of displaying said order information. 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 13  including the step of displaying said vehicle identification information. 
     
     
       17. A program product, said program product comprising:
 a recordable non-transitory signal bearing medium; and 
 one or more programs stored on said recordable non-transitory signal bearing medium, said one or more programs being configured to perform the following steps:
 transmitting a restaurant menu of a restaurant, said restaurant menu specifying a plurality of available items, each available item of said plurality of available items comprising at least one respective food item or drink item offered for sale by said restaurant for purchase by customers thereof, said restaurant menu being transmitted as a first wireless transmission without being requested by a customer device associated with a customer; 
 retransmitting said restaurant menu specifying said plurality of available items, said restaurant menu being retransmitted as a second wireless transmission without being requested by said customer device; and 
 receiving order information from said customer device, said order information specifying at least one available item selected by said customer for purchase from among said plurality of available items responsive to receiving said restaurant menu in said customer device via said second wireless transmission, said customer device being moved by said customer from a first position to a second position, wherein said first position is not within range of said first wireless transmission and wherein said second position is within range of said second wireless transmission, said order information being received as a wireless transmission from said customer device after said customer device is moved to said second position, said order information not being received as the result of a request by said customer device; and 
 responsive to receiving said order information from said customer device, displaying information to staff of said restaurant to cause the at least one available item selected by said customer for purchase to be prepared by the staff. 
 
 
     
     
       18. The program product of  claim 17  wherein said order information includes payment information. 
     
     
       19. The program product of  claim 17  wherein said order information includes vehicle identification information. 
     
     
       20. The program product of  claim 17  wherein said one or more programs are further configured to perform the steps of:
 validating said order information; 
 accepting said order information when said order information is valid; and 
 rejecting said order information when said order information is not valid. 
 
     
     
       21. The program product of  claim 20  wherein said one or more programs are further configured to perform the steps of:
 transmitting acceptance information to said client device when said order is valid; and 
 transmitting error information to said client device when said order is not valid. 
 
     
     
       22. The program product of  claim 17  wherein said one or more programs are further configured to perform the step of displaying said order information. 
     
     
       23. The program product of  claim 19  wherein said one or more programs are further configured to perform the step of displaying said vehicle identification information. 
     
     
       24. A program product for servicing a customer of a restaurant, said program product comprising:
 non-transitory signal bearing media; and 
 one or more programs disposed on said non-transitory signal bearing media, said one or more programs being configured to perform the steps of: 
 receiving a restaurant menu of said restaurant at a customer device associated with said customer via a retransmitted wireless transmission, said restaurant menu comprising information specifying a plurality of available items, each available item of said plurality of available items comprising at least one respective food item or drink item offered for sale by said restaurant for purchase by customers thereof, said retransmitted wireless transmission having been transmitted by a server computer system subsequent to transmitting at least one previous wireless transmission without being requested by said customer device; 
 displaying said restaurant menu via said customer device subsequent to receipt by said customer device of said retransmitted wireless transmission, said receipt by said customer device of said retransmitted wireless transmission occurring after said customer device is moved by a said customer from a first position to a second position, wherein said first position is not within range of said at least one previous wireless transmission and wherein said second position is within range of said retransmitted wireless transmission; 
 responsive to displaying said restaurant menu via said customer device, receiving, in said customer device, input from said customer specifying at least one available item to be purchased by said customer from among said plurality of available items; and 
 transmitting order information via a wireless transmission from said customer device to said server computer system, said order information specifying said at least one available item to be purchased by said customer, wherein responsive to receiving said order information in said server computer system, said server computer system causes staff of said restaurant to prepare the at least one available item to be purchased by said customer. 
 
     
     
       25. The program product of  claim 24  wherein said restaurant menu is repeatedly transmitted such that repeated wireless transmissions result and wherein said repeated wireless transmissions comprise said at least one previous wireless transmission and said retransmitted wireless transmission. 
     
     
       26. The program product of  claim 24  wherein said order information includes payment information. 
     
     
       27. The program product of  claim 24  wherein said order information includes vehicle identification information. 
     
     
       28. The program product of  claim 24  wherein said one or more programs are further configured to perform the steps of:
 receiving acceptance information at said client device after it is determined that said order is valid; and 
 receiving error information at said client device after it is determined that said order is not valid. 
 
     
     
       29. The program product of  claim 24  wherein said one or more programs are further configured to perform the steps of displaying said order information. 
     
     
       30. The program product of  claim 27  wherein said one or more programs are further configured to perform the steps of displaying said vehicle identification information. 
     
     
       31. An apparatus for servicing a customer of a restaurant, said apparatus comprising:
 a processor; 
 memory connected to said processor; 
 a mechanism for repeatedly transmitting a restaurant menu of said restaurant via an outbound wireless transmission, said restaurant menu comprising information specifying a plurality of available items, each available item of said plurality of available items comprising at least one respective food item or drink item offered for sale by said restaurant for purchase by customers thereof, said restaurant menu being repeatedly transmitted without being requested by a customer device associated with said customer, wherein said outbound wireless transmission is designed to be received by said customer device responsive to said customer device being moved by said customer from an out of range location to a location that is within range of said outbound wireless transmission; and 
 a mechanism for receiving order information via an inbound wireless transmission from said customer device, said order information specifying at least one available item selected by said customer for purchase from among said plurality of available items responsive to receiving said restaurant menu in said customer device via said outbound wireless transmission; and 
 a mechanism for displaying information to staff of said restaurant to cause the at least one available item selected by said customer for purchase to be prepared by the staff responsive to receiving said order information via an inbound wireless transmission from said customer device. 
 
     
     
       32. A customer device, said customer device comprising:
 a processor; 
 memory connected to said processor; 
 a mechanism for receiving a repeatedly transmitted wireless transmission regarding a restaurant menu of a restaurant from a server computer system of said restaurant, said restaurant menu comprising information specifying a plurality of available items, each available item of said plurality of available items comprising at least one respective food item or drink item offered for sale by said restaurant for purchase by customers thereof, said transmission being received when in range of said transmission, but not when outside of said range of said transmission and not as the result of a request for said restaurant menu; 
 a mechanism for displaying said restaurant menu subsequent to receipt by said customer device of said restaurant menu when said customer device is moved from an out of range location to a location that is within range of said transmission; 
 a mechanism for receiving input from a customer associated with said customer device specifying at least one available item to be purchased by said customer from among said plurality of available items; and 
 a mechanism for transmitting order information via a wireless transmission from said customer device to said server computer system, said order information specifying said at least one available item to be purchased by said customer, wherein responsive to receiving said order information in said server computer system, said server computer system causes staff of said restaurant to prepare the at least one available item to be purchased by said customer. 
 
     
     
       33. The mechanism of  claims 31  or  32  in which said mechanism is a suitably configured program stored in said memory. 
     
     
       34. A method for drive-through order processing in a restaurant, comprising the steps of:
 repeatedly broadcasting, via a limited range wireless transmission from a server computer system of said restaurant, a restaurant menu of said restaurant, said restaurant menu specifying a plurality of available items, each available item of said plurality of available items comprising at least one respective food item or drink item offered for sale by said restaurant for purchase by customers at a drive-through window thereof, said restaurant menu being broadcast without being requested by a customer of said restaurant; 
 responsive to repeatedly broadcasting said restaurant menu, receiving said restaurant menu in each of a plurality of mobile customer devices and displaying said menu to a respective customer associated with each said mobile customer device, each mobile customer device being within a vehicle carrying the respective customer associated with the respective mobile customer device, each mobile customer device receiving said restaurant menu as the respective vehicle within which it is contained comes within range of said limited range wireless transmission; 
 responsive to displaying said menu to a respective customer associated with each said motile customer device, receiving, in each said mobile customer device, respective input from the respective customer specifying at least one available item to be purchased by the respective customer from among said plurality of available items; 
 responsive to receiving, in each said mobile customer device, respective input from the respective customer specifying a respective at least one available item to be purchased, receiving, in said server computer system, respective order information wirelessly transmitted from the respective mobile customer device, the respective order information specifying the at least one available item selected by the respective customer for purchase; and 
 responsive to receiving, in said server computer system, respective order information, displaying with said server computer system information to staff of said restaurant to cause the respective at least one available item specified by the respective order information to be prepared by the staff.